You Can't Take the Sky from Me
by FelixFeroxFilia
Summary: AU Star Trek universe without powers. Bart is a Bajoran engineer and Jaime is Trill doctor. Bart and Jamie have just been transfered aboard the USS Astraea and quickly find out that not everything is as peaceful as it seems.
1. Chapter 1

_AU Star Trek universe without powers. Bart is a Bajoran engineer and Jaime is Trill doctor. Bart and Jamie have just been transfered aboard the USS Astraea and quickly find out that not everything is as peaceful as it seems._

**A/N: Hey there! So, just a few notes I want to give to you before you start reading this story.**

**1) I am labeling this fic an AU because (although it takes place in the Star Trek Universe during the Deep Space Nine timeline) I won't be bringing in any characters from the actual show. All of them will be modified DC characters, the majority of them having appeared in Young Justice.**

**2) Bajoran's are a deeply spiritual alien species who worship transdimensional entities that they call "The Prophets". Bajorans are humanoid in appearance and have characteristic ridges down the bridge of their nose (I think it looks rather cute). They show their faith by wearing silver earrings on their right ear. Most notably the Bajoran home world had been under the tyrannical rule of another alien species called the Cardassians (very similar to what Bart went through when Earth was under Reach control). They achieved independence about ten years before this fic takes place, and there is still quite a lot of tension between the two peoples. **

**3) Trills are a symbiotic species that have evolved together on the same planet. Most of the planet's inhabitants are humanoid and distinguishable by the spotted patterns over their bodies. Their symbionts are sentient bug-like creatures that are capable of surviving many centuries if blended with a proper host. Their personalities become intertwined and once blended they cannot be separated unless one of them is dead. **

**4) If you have any comments or critiques on my writing/characterization please don't hesitate to tell me as I would love to hear it! This fic was betad by the lovely yoru nekozawa sensei! Story image by the wonderful TestChambers! Thanks for reading my fic!**

* * *

Chapter 1

Jaime watched as the younger Bajoran exited sick bay, his arm held in a loose sling until the bones could finish knitting back together. He sighed wistfully, wishing that he knew what to do.

A knowing voice drifted over to him from the other doorway. "Why don't you talk to him?"

It seemed as though Dr. Beecher had been listening to their exchange. The darker woman smiled kindly, her loose lab coat shifting over her Starfleet uniform as she picked up a data pads left for her on the counter.

"I was just talking to him," the young Trill replied, slowly starting to put away the equipment he had used to repair Ensign Allen's arm.

They had talked quite a bit as Jaime had run the hyper spanner over the Bajoran's fractured radius, joking as Jaime admonished him for being so reckless. Ensign Allen had insisted that he _was_ being careful; the rock that had hit him had been a glitch in the holodeck's program.

Jaime had a hard time believing this. Khaji Da agreed; his symbiont believed that the young Bajoran lacked focus, and Jaime had to reluctantly agree with that assessment. Ensign Allen always seemed to be on hyper mode, jumping from one idea to the next, barely stopping to take a breath. It was what made him such a great engineer. It was also one of the things that appealed to Jaime. He admired the young man's energy.

"You know what I mean," Dr. Beecher said, looking at him with a touch of motherly impatience.

"Talk to him _outside_ of sickbay. Hold on," she said and went back into her office for a quick moment to look something up, popping her head back through the entryway a minute later. "He gets off of work at 18:00 hours. Why don't you try to talk to him then?"

Jaime worried his lower lip, a little concerned. "Are you sure? What if Bajorans aren't interested in same-sex relations?"

"You won't know until you talk to him," she reasoned, walking back towards him. "But I don't think it will be a problem. So far as I know, Bajorans don't much care about the person's gender as much as their beliefs."

Jaime smiled tentatively. "Thanks Dr. Beecher."

"Oh please, honey, all of my friends call me Karen," she said and touched his shoulder lightly, giving it a reassuring squeeze.

"Karen, thanks," Jaime said, his smile relaxing into a genuine grin.

"No problem," she replied before going back to work.

"Besides," she quipped over her shoulder, "you two looked cute together."

Jaime blushed and finished putting away the supplies, mentally noting the time and how many more hours it would be until 18:00.

* * *

"How's the arm doing?"

Bart looked up to see the same young Trill who had treated his arm earlier standing at his table with a tray of food in hand.

Bart smiled glad to see him again. "Much better, thanks to you!" He said enthusiastically before waving at Jaime to take a seat.

"You're welcome to join me," he said, "I don't often get company."

"Really?" Jaime asked surprised as he set his tray on the table and sat down. "I find that hard to believe," he said.

Bart shrugged. "I think it has something to do with the Bajaron Provisional Government being at odds with the Federation right now."

Jaime frowned, amazed that people in this day and age would be so narrow-minded.

Bart shrugged again and dug into the salad in front of him. "So sorry I have to ask, but I didn't catch your name earlier."

Jaime gave him a half smile and replied, "It's Jaime Khaji Da."

"Khaji Da is your symbiont's name?" Bart asked, genuinely interested. He had only met one Trill before and they hadn't been blended with a symbiont.

Jaime nodded, starting on his meal as well; a human dish that the replicator called 'mac and cheese'. Jaime had heard a few of his human crew members swear by it, so he decided to try it. After taking a bite he decided it was delicious and delved in with renewed vigor.

"What's it like being blended?" Bart asked.

Jaime swallowed his food before responding. "It was weird at first. I mean you have to go through special training to be selected as a host, but even so. Nothing can truly prepare you for being blended with a whole other being."

Bart nodded, fascinated. He wasn't sure if he could have gone through with it and said as much.

Jaime chuckled, encouraged by Bart's interest. "It's considered a great honor amongst my people to apply for the training. But even then, not everyone wants to. The idea of changing yourself permanently to become a host is daunting to say the least."

"How many hosts has Khaji Da been through?" Bart was slowly making his way through his salad as he listened.

It was a rare occurrence that Bart listened more than he spoke. His silence showed just how interested he was in Jaime's symbiotic relationship.

"Not too many," Jaime said, idly scratching one of the many spots on his temple.

Most off-world symbionts had been through at least six of seven hosts in this day and age. Jaime Khaji Da was an exception to this occurrence.

"Jaime is Khaji Da's third host."

"Have you ever been a woman?"

"Nope, not yet. All of the previous hosts were males."

"How about partners? I heard that blended Trills were forbidden from interacting with people from their previous lives."

Jaime smiled sadly. "The first Khaji Da, Dan, had a family and kids. The kids all have grandkids of their own now. I check on them every so often when the memories overwhelm me, but I try to stay in the present. The second Kaji Da, Ted, had a male partner and no kids. He still lives on Trill… I do my best to stay away from him as well…"

Jaime trailed away, the pain in his voice evident. Some pieces of him, those parts of Khaji Da left over from his time in Dan and Ted, longed for the presence of family and comfort. At times when his feelings from those pieces became too much, he reminded himself that they weren't his family and they would no longer provide the comfort he sought. It was a bitter awakening, but one he needed to remain in the present.

For now, Jaime contented himself by changing the subject (not to say he wasn't flattered in Bart's interest, but he needed something else to think about) by gesturing to the data pad next to Bart's plate.

"What're you working on?" he asked.

Bart's attention shifted to the data pad that had been abandoned when Jaime sat down.

"Ah, I was looking over the logs from my holodeck accident earlier to see if there was a glitch in the system."

"Any luck?" Jaime asked.

"None so far," Bart said, a tinge of frustration creeping into his voice. He was pretty good with code. In fact, some would call him a genius with it. But the problem he was looking for continued to elude him. He vaguely wondered if he should just give up and call it human error even though he was _sure _that rock hadn't been there two seconds before the accident.

Jaime felt for the young Bajoran. "Can I take a look at it?"

"You know Federation code?" Bart asked incredulously, raising a questioning eyebrow.

"My former host, Ted, was an engineer. I might be able to provide a fresh pair of eyes."

"By all means," Bart said, handing the data pad over to Jaime.

Jaime quickly scanned its contents. He could see that coding had advanced a bit since Ted's heyday, but he recognized most of it. There was one section, however, that he had no clue about.

"What's this section for?" he asked, turning the data pad towards Bart and pointing it out.

"Ah this is for the new holoprojector systems installed aboard the newer Intrepid class starships," Bart explained, scanning over the page of code Jaime had pointed to.

"It's supposed to handle the holoprograms when they switch from holo-supported areas to the ships corridors. It was a mechanism designed after the Voyager incident ten years ago. But this area here," he pointed to a place halfway down the page, "is all messed up. Those lines of code shouldn't be there…"

Bart chewed his lip thoughtfully before looking back up at Jaime. "Thanks!" he said, smiling. "Seems as though a fresh pair of eyes is just what I needed."

Jaime smiled back, blushing a little. Although his tone was wry when he said, "Any time you need a program to be dumbed down a little you let me know."

Bart chuckled good-naturedly and started stacking up his tray. "Sorry to dine and dash," he said, a note of true regret in his voice, "but I need to show this to Lieutenant West before he clocks out."

"I understand," Jaime said, "It was nice talking to you."

"Same!" Bart said, flashing his usual enthusiastic grin, "We should totally do this again sometime!"

Jaime smiled as the young Bajoran headed off to return his tray, happy with how well their first casual interaction had gone.

* * *

"Lieutenant West!"

Wally West rolled his eyes upwards as if praying for peace before turning to greet the hyper active young man shouting his name down the corridor.

"What is it Ensign Allen?" Wally asked tiredly, not sure he was in the mood to deal with the energetic man so late in the day.

"I've found a problem with the ships holoprogram code," Bart explained slowly, trying not to overwhelm his exhausted superior officer. "Look at this paragraph of code here. It's completely scrambled."

Wally took the data pad from his underling and scanned over the section of code he had pointed out. Scrambled was an understatement.

Wally sighed, knowing that the problem was an urgent one. With the coding so messed up there was no telling what could happen when the crew started to use the ship's holodecks, let alone the other holosytems located throughout the ship. The ensign in front of him was proof enough of this. But all of his experts in coding were on the morning or afternoon shifts and had clocked out for the day. Wally himself had been about to head to the mess hall for a late dinner before crawling into bed.

"I'll take the ship's holosystems offline until we can fix this tomorrow morning," he said, trying to suppress a yawn and failing.

Hitting the combadge on his chest he said, "West to engineering."

A voice replied, "Go ahead, sir."

"I need you to shutdown the ship's holosystems until further notice. There's a problem with some of the base coding."

"Right away, sir."

"West out."

Wally handed the data pad back to Bart and said, "I expect to see you here bright and early to help fix this."

Bart just smiled and said in a cheery voice, "Of course, sir!" before he bounded away towards the crew quarters.

Wally sighed once again and headed towards the mess, rubbing his temples. That kid made him feel old.

* * *

The next morning found Bart in the medical bay being treated by Jaime once again.

"Hold still," Jaime said, trying to finish the repairs to Bart's radial bone.

"Sorry," he said, although continued to fidget with his other hand, "I just want to get to work on those holoprogram codes."

Jaime smiled a little at the Bajoran's never ending enthusiasm but said sternly, "You fidgeting only makes the process longer." Although, truth be told, he didn't mind the extra time spent in the Bajoran's presence.

Bart took a deep breath, willing himself to calm down. He started to count the seconds in-between each inhale and exhale like the ship's counselor, the Betazoid M'gann M'orzz, had taught him. One, two, three, four, five, six, exhale. One, two, three, four, five, six, inhale. Bart continued this pattern for several minutes and was only broken out of his meditative state when Jaime announced that he was finished.

"Done," he said, not noticing that Bart was unusually still, having been consumed in his own work. "You should be able to use it now, just go easy on it for another day or so."

"Thanks Jaime!" Bart said excitedly. Jaime had told him to call him by his host name when he entered sickbay that morning.

"I'll see you later!" he called as he exited sickbay.

"I look forward to it!" Jaime called back before the automated door shut behind the young Bajoran.

From her office, Dr. Beecher watched with a smug smile on her face.

* * *

"There, that should do it," Bart said to an engrossed Wally.

The two of them had been working on the recoding all morning, standing around the large control consol in the center of the engineering section.

Wally nodded without looking up, doing a final check of his own. "Yeah, it looks good, but we should still do a test run before opening them back up to the ship's general population."

"We're going to need to reinstate the system to get accurate readings," Bart commented, starting to initiate holodeck one.

Wally thought for a moment before saying, "It might be better if one of us goes down to the holodeck to check on the readings there."

"I'll go," Bart said enthusiastically, "Standing still for so long is making me cramp up."

Wally smiled a little. "Very good, Ensign Allen. Report back when you're in position."

About ten minutes later Bart arrived at holodeck one. Tapping his combadge he said, "Ensign Allen to Lieutenant West."

Wally's voice came back over the intercom. "Go ahead, Ensign."

"I've arrived at holodeck one, sir."

"Alright," Wally said and tapped a few buttons on the control panel, "everything should be operational on your end."

Bart looked over his panel, which had begun to flash. "Looks good from here, sir. I'll start up one of my programs to make sure it's working correctly."

"What kind of program is it?"

"It's the rock climbing program I was using yesterday, " Bart replied, smiling to himself as he input the program. "Climbing in the Janzita Mountains during spring. It's really lovely. You should come with me sometime, sir."

"Thanks but I'll have to pass," Wally said good naturedly, "Rock climbing has never really been my thing. Now, if it was a beach program I might take you up on that offer."

"I'll remember that, sir," Bart said, continuing to monitor the code scrolling past on his monitor. "Everything looks like it's working according to specs."

"I've the same readings here, Ensign."

"Alright, I'm heading in to take a closer look," Bart said and entered the holodeck.

Bart stepped into a field of green. Warm breezes passed over him as he looked out on a deep valley filled with flowers and trees. A river ran rampant through the center, cutting a swath through the beautiful landscape. Although Bart knew that it was all an illusion (the holodeck was not large enough to encompass the whole valley), he stared at the landscape feeling a small sense of longing. It had been so long since he'd seen the green-tinged sky of Bajor and basked under the rays of its sun. It felt good to have this slice of home here for him.

A voice over his com broke him from his revere. "Keep a look out for anything out of the ordinary. We don't want you getting injured like yesterday."

"Aye aye Lieutenant," Bart said and started to climb up the rock face to get a better look at the valley.

He had barely climbed his full length when he felt the rock shift underneath him. A large chunk of the mountain flickered and disappeared. 'Oh shit,' Bart thought and pushed himself off the rock face, but it was too late. Rock rushed in to fill the gap, quickly becoming an avalanche.

A large chunk of rock hit Bart in the shoulder. He felt agonizing ripping and crunching as the bones and tendons broke. Screaming in pain, he stumbled backwards, towards the doors.

'This shouldn't be happening,' he though dazedly. The holodecks had safety features. Sure, sometimes they'd let you get a broken bone or two, but nothing like this; nothing life threatening.

Once he had gotten to the doors, he quickly realized something else was wrong with the holodeck. The doors would not open. Using his uninjured hand, Bart pounded the control panel to no avail. Frantically he hit the combadge on his chest.

"Emergency beam out, holodeck one!" he shouted. There was no answer. Bart looked on in abject terror as the rocks crowded around him, pushing and crushing him up against the archway doors.

* * *

Meanwhile, back in engineering, Wally was frantically trying to get Bart out of there.

"Allen! Allen!" he shouted before giving up on the com. His fingers moved restlessly around the control panel, trying to open the doors to the holodeck. The controls would not respond. Cursing, he slammed his hand down in anger.

Jabbing at his combadge he yelled, "Emergency beam out, holodeck one!"

A moment later a frantic voice came back to him, "The transporters seem to be malfunctioning, sir! I can't lock onto the signal in holodeck one!"

Cursing again, Wally started running towards the holodecks. He jabbed his combadge and called for an emergency evacuation team.

"Right away, sir." Stated Lieutenant Kent, the chief of security.

Slightly more calmly, Wally called for a medical team to meet them outside holodeck one.

"We're on our way," was the clipped reply before Dr. Beecher too signed out.

Wally just hoped that they would get there in time.

* * *

**A/N Afterwards: I hope that this chapter wasn't too confusing. I'm trying to work on the way I do dialogue. In any event, please follow if you are interested in reading more and know that reviews help inspire me to write a little faster! Thanks again for reading my fic! :)**

**Fun fact: Bajorans are vegetarians. **


	2. Chapter 2

_AU Star Trek universe without powers. Bart is a Bajoran engineer and Jaime is Trill doctor. Bart and Jamie have just been transfered aboard the USS Astraea and quickly find out that not everything is as peaceful as it seems._

**A/N: If you have any comments or critiques on my writing/characterization please don't hesitate to tell me as I would love to hear it! This fic was betad by the lovely yoru nekozawa sensei! Story image by the wonderful TestChambers! Thanks for reading my fic!**

* * *

Chapter 2

Inside the holodeck, Bart tried his hardest to keep from passing out. The pain was immense and he was sure he had a concussion, but he had a feeling that if he fell asleep he might never wake up again. Slowly, labouredly, he began the breathing exercises Counselor M'orzz had taught him. One, two, three, four, five, six, inhale. One, two, three, four, five, six, exhale. There wasn't much air left, and his ribs were packed in tight, but he managed.

An image of Jaime popped into his mind then. Maybe it was because he had done the same breathing exercises that morning while Jaime had tended to his arm. He thought of Jaime outside the door right now, preparing to care for him. For some reason, the thought filled him with comfort.

Suddenly his form heaved with racking coughs, breaking the happy image from his head. He felt liquid trickle from his mouth and supposed it must be blood. When he was done coughing, Bart let his head fall back against the metal of the doorway. He tried the breathing exercises once again, but the air was thinning now and Bart could feel his conscious mind slipping away from him. He regretted not being able to see Jaime again as his mind faded to black.

* * *

Outside the doorway, Jaime looked on in horror. His Bart was crushed on the other side of the thick, seemingly impenetrable metal doors. Only they weren't impenetrable. Not if the evacuation crew had anything to do about it.

Lieutenant West had tried his best to get the doors open, going so far as ripping the paneling off the wall to work the controls underneath. He had no luck. The doors were sealed tight.

Now the evacuation team was locating Bart on the other side of the doorway with a sonic-type device so that they knew where to begin cutting.

"There he is," said the security chief, his ice blue eyes narrowed in concern. "From the sounds of it he's alive, but his heart beat is very weak."

"Here and here, not too close or we'll burn him as well." He instructed his men where to cut.

Time seemed to crawl by at a snail's pace as Jaime watched them cut through the holodeck doors. He knew that they were going as fast as they could, but to Jaime it was an eternity before they had finally cut enough of the door away to safely remove Bart.

The young Bajoran looked the worse for wear. Much of his body was swollen and bruised, quite a few of his limbs sticking out in the wrong direction. Blood caked his clothes, face, and hair making it hard to see what else was wrong with him.

The medical crew rushed forward and carefully placed Bart on the stretcher.

"Four to beam to the infirmary," Dr. Beecher said into her combadge. The next second a stream of light engulfed them and they found themselves in the infirmary. It was time to get to work.

"Put him on the surgical bed," Dr. Beecher said hurriedly but calmly. Time was of the essence, but one false move could end Bart's life here and now.

The assistants rushed to obey, lifting Bart gingerly onto the medical bed. The bed engulfed the young Bajoran with a plastic overhanging device that had a display screen at its center. This was the bed's sensor cluster and worked in consort with a medical tricorder to give detailed information on the Bajoran's condition. What it displayed wasn't good, but it wasn't terrible either.

Bart had broken several bones, some of them puncturing his internal organs and ripping muscles or tendons. But most of the bleeding was superficial and the damage was mainly focused on his extremities. His heart, the weakest part of Bajoran physiology, had come through remarkably unscathed.

"Thank the powers that be that he's Bajoran," Dr. Beecher said to no one in particular, "I'm not sure a human could have survived such an avalanche."

Underneath his numb disbelief, Jaime had to agree. The Bajoran bone structure was sturdier than that of humans. Their reinforced spines made them particularly resilient to accidents such as these.

It was with this small shred of comfort that Jaime assisted the chief medical officer, determined that Bart would avoid meeting his Prophets on this day.

* * *

Later that day Captain Durham called a meeting with his chief of staff.

Wearily, Dr. Beecher changed lab coats, promising that she would be back shortly. Jaime nodded his understanding and went to check on Bart's vital signs once again. They were the same as before.

Jaime looked down on the face of the usually energetic Bajoran, now relaxed in deep slumber. They had cleaned the blood off and changed Bart into a medical gown once the surgery had been completed and his vital signs stabilized. His face was clear of grime now, although still marred by purpling bruises. Jaime trailed a finger down one unblemished cheek, numb over the day's events.

He had almost lost the beautiful being that lay before him and it scared him to no end. What would he have done without Bart to look forward to in his life? He did not like the thought of a future without the energetic Bajoran.

A part of him wondered how he could love someone he had just met so deeply, but it was a small part. Subconsciously he knew that his lack of concern should worry him more than it did, but he couldn't bring himself to care. In his eyes, he couldn't understand why anyone wouldn't love Bart. His joyous nature, boundless energy, his adorable quirks; they were all so alluring.

Jaime briefly wondered if his sudden love for Bart wasn't some desperate latent impression from his symbiont. Bart's behavior was strikingly similar to that of his previous host's lover, Michael Carter. His brows furrowed at the thought. Jaime truly hoped that he wasn't trying to relive Ted's memories vicariously through Bart. It wouldn't be fair to anyone involved.

As he pulled away from the Barjoran's sick bed a sense of determination filled him. He was certain that, for whatever reason, he had fallen for the young man with the silver earring. Jaime Khaji Da was in love with Allen Bart, and he would make sure that nothing else happened to him so long as he was in Jaime's care.

* * *

In the briefing room Captain Durham sat at the head of a long wooden table that was currently occupied by his entire senior staff.

"Status report, Lieutenant West," he said, his voice brisk and demanding.

Wally ran a hand tiredly through his hair as he responded, "We've been analyzing the data from the accident. So far there is nothing that would suggest foul play, however…" Wally trailed away trying to figure out how to phrase what else he had to say.

"Please continue Lieutenant West," said the captain.

"The way the teleporters malfunctioned, Captain, it makes no sense," he said finally. "The systems we were working on were completely separate from both the teleporter and the com system. They shouldn't have malfunctioned like that and Ensign Allen's com shouldn't have cut out considering how little damage it took."

He placed a com badge on the table. A small dent in one corner was the only indication that the device had indeed been through an avalanche. The other officers at the table stared at it in contemplative silence; all but one.

Lieutenant Kent glared at the object, his ice blue eyes hard. "I'd say that's more than enough proof of foul play. Sir, I recommend that we post security guards outside of sickbay as a precaution."

Captian Durham nodded at his chief of security, "I agree. Once the meeting has adjourned send two officers to guard the doors outside of sickbay. I'd also like you and another officer to search Ensign Allen's quarters incase our perpetrator has decided to go for the more direct approach."

"We're sure there's a killer, then?" asked Commander Grayson, speaking up for the first time since walking into the room.

When no one answered he continued, "Circumstantial evidence aside, whom do we know who would want to kill young Mr. Allen? He's only been aboard the Astraea for a month, hardly enough time to make enemies, let alone one that would want to kill him."

Captain Durham looked at M'gann. "Counselor, do you know if anyone onboard would harbor such a grudge against Ensign Allen?"

M'gann took a moment to respond, her pupil-less eyes staring at her intertwined fingers. Looking up she said, "No one comes to mind. Ensign Allen seems to be an up-beat, kind young man. I can't see him making any enemies in the month he's been on board."

She paused before continuing, "He has expressed concern before about his status as a Bajoran amongst a Federation crew, but I can't see how it would escalate to something of this magnitude."

"Still, that is something to consider," Captain Durham said and his attention shifted down the line to Dr. Beecher. "Doctor, what's the status of your patient?"

"He's resting for now," she said. "He probably won't awaken for another day or so, but his vitals are stable and I'm confident he'll make a full recovery in time."

"Glad to hear it," said the Captian and started to wrap up the meeting. "Until the evidence disproves the work of sabotage, I believe precautionary measures to ensure Ensign Allen's safety would be a prudent course at this time.

"Lieutenant West," he said, staring down the table at Wally, "finding out the cause of this incident is top priority. Pull whomever you need to for this case. I want a full report on my desk in two hours. Is that understood?"

"Yes, sir."

"Dismissed." The captain left the briefing room in the direction of his ready room, Commander Grayson a step behind him. The rest of the staff filed out the other door a moment later.

* * *

In the corridor outside stood several security guards. They were young officers who had proven their valor on more than one occasion. Connor trusted them all with his life.

He addressed them briskly, "Crewman Logan and Crock, you are to be stationed outside sick bay for the time being. Your priority is to ensure the safety of Ensign Allen who is seriously injured and lying unconscious in the Intensive Care unit. Nguyen and Hayes will be your relief for the night shift. Harper, you're with me. Dismissed."

The guards saluted before heading off in separate directions.

"If you don't mind my asking sir, where are we going?" Roy asked, curious as to why he had been pulled away from guard duty.

"The Captain wishes us to inspect Ensign Allen's quarters to make sure that they are safe for him to return to," Connor said and ordered the turbo lift to take them to deck eight.

"So there _is_ a would-be killer on board?" Roy asked as they descended, knowing that their conversation could not be overheard while inside the turbo lift.

"The evidence seems to point that way." The turbo lift came to a stop and the two exited, quickly making their way down the corridor to Ensign Allen's quarters.

The room was tiny, which was unsurprising considering that he was only an ensign, but there were small silver artifacts scattered over the end tables and several hand-woven blankets and cloths hung over the room's sparse furniture. It looked as though Ensign Allen had done his best to be at home aboard the alien space ship.

Lieutenant Kent and Ensign Harper scoured the tiny living space, both coming up empty handed.

"Everything looks to be secure, sir," Roy said.

"My inspection has turned up similar results. Good work Ensign, I'll go and inform the Captain. You are dismissed."

Roy stood to attention and saluted before both went their separate ways.

* * *

Bart awakened slowly, his conscious mind rising to the surface like a bubble through molasses. Eventually he realized the whiteness in front of him was light and was able to focus his eyes. What he saw confused him at first. What did he know of that was off-white, smooth, with gently sloping forms? He was sure he'd seen something similar to it before, but where? Perhaps if he looked around a little more he would find the answer.

Turning his head was agony as his muscles were so weak. It was like trying to turn over a rock with toothpick. But he managed. Next to him was a dark head of hair lying on top of crossed arms. The head and arms were attached to a man who appeared to be sleeping, his back slowly rising and falling with the rhythm of his breathes. Bart recognized the man's blue collar and black and gray uniform as belonging to a Federation science officer.

Yes, that's right, he served aboard a Federation star ship; the USS Astraea. And he was in the ship's medical bay.

As his mind pieced together the information he had gathered so far, Bart began to recognize other aspects of the man lying next to him: his dark complexion, the shape of his face, and the characteristic spots that went from his temple, along the side of his face, and down into the collar of his uniform. It was Jaime.

"Jaime…?" he tried to ask what the man was doing there, but his voice was extremely weak and the man beside him did not stir from his slumber. He tried a few more times, his voice steadily getting stronger until the dark head looked up at last.

Blearily, Jaime looked over at the horizontal form in front of him, not quite registering what had woken him up. Blinking a few times, he found that Bart's eyes were open, their green irises shining against the paleness of his face.

Jaime sat bolt upright in surprise. Looking around he called, "Dr. Beecher, er I mean Karen, he's awake!" before turning back to the injured man in front of him.

"How are you feeling?" he asked, standing up to get a better look at Bart.

Bart smiled weakly. "Totally feeling the mode."

Jaime frowned, unsure of what Bart meant. Had he sustained brain damage in the rockslide? His scans hadn't looked that serious, but maybe he should check again just to be sure.

Dr. Beecher appeared then with a medical tricorder in hand. Jamie moved away so that she could pass it over Bart's form and assesses how the healing process was doing. She seemed assured by what she saw.

Smiling kindly down at him she remarked, "You're awake sooner than I expected. It's only been eighteen hours since your operation. Bajoran physiology really is amazing."

"It's gotten us through some tough times." Bart replied feebly, attempting a bit of humor and failing.

Dr. Beecher's smile flickered but she continued, "I'm sure. But we're still going to keep you here for another day or so to monitor your recovery. If you feel any pain or need anything, don't hesitate to call."

Bart attempted to nod, but found that he couldn't so he just said, "Yes, thank you doctor."

Dr. Beecher went back into her office and Jaime felt a little lost. He had been awake all night and into the next morning monitoring Bart's vital signs before he had passed out at around 05:00 hours. He looked at the clock. It was now 07:30. That explained what Dr. Beecher was doing here since her shift didn't start until 07:00.

He looked back down at the Bajoran who was looking up at him drowsily.

"What happened?" he asked, his words slurring a little from sleepiness. Jaime realized that Bart wasn't going to remain conscious for much longer.

"You were caught in a rock slide on the holodeck. Somehow the safeties malfunctioned and you were nearly crushed to death."

"Yeah," and even through the drowsiness Jaime could hear the exasperation in the younger man's voice. Jaime knew he must sound really thick, but he was having a hard time processing information at this particular moment.

"How did I… get out?"

"Ah, we had to cut through the holodeck doors to get to you," Jaime clarified. "Lieutenant West was in a frenzy, ripping panels off the wall to get the doors open," he smiled as if the memory was a funny one, "but eventually Lieutenant Kent and his men had to cut you out."

Bart gave a weak smile at the thought of Wally ripping panels open to get to him. "Wish I could have seen that…" he said but trailed away near the end as sleep began to overtake him. He mumbled something else that sounded like 'crash' and Jaime was sure that he had slipped back into unconsciousness.

Jaime stared down at Bart's sleeping form a while longer, slowly sinking into a daze.

He was broken from it when Dr. Beecher came up behind him and said, "You should get some sleep, too"

Jaime was about to protest, knowing that his shift had already started for the day when Dr. Beecher cut him off. "Take a few hours to eat, sleep, and shower and be back for the second half of your shift, alright? I promise you that he'll be sleeping for another six hours at least."

Jaime nodded his understanding and said, "Thanks Karen."

She squeezed his shoulder reassuringly before heading back into her office. Jaime glanced at Bart one last time and decided that he couldn't do anything for the Bajoran when he could barely keep his own eyes open. He left sickbay to do as Dr. Beecher suggested.

* * *

**A/N Afterwards: Didn't think I'd add in 'crash' and 'mode' now did yah? ;D In any event, please follow if you are interested in reading more and know that reviews help inspire me to write a little faster! Thanks again for reading my fic! :)**

**Fun fact: Bajorans names have the surname first, so Bart would be called Allen Bart when someone is using his full name. **


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